Maids VS Apocalypse

The eeriness that enveloped Stonegate City in the day was magnified in the night. Though electricity was still available, most streetlights were broken, leaving those still operational to enhance the creepy atmosphere.

Mark was the kind of person who went outside at night only if it was absolutely necessary. Even with people around, he couldn’t shake the looming sense of danger that came from the absence of the sun.

That made the desolate streets of Stonegate City all the more unnerving under the veil of darkness. He also felt strangely defenseless while riding a motorcycle through such an environment.

Of course, the fact that he had very little experience with motorcycles added to the lingering fear pulling on the back of his mind, even though he was riding behind someone.

The motorcycle guy was the perfect name for Ramsay. Not only was his surname Rider, but he also took his bike everywhere he went. The air between them had been charged since the first time they met so Mark didn’t like the idea of riding with the brown man.

Arguing the matter would have been a pain so Mark just went along with the arrangement. Getting done with whatever they were trying to accomplish and going back to rest was his priority and anything that could delay that was thrown out of the window.

The place that appeared like it would be their destination came into sight soon enough.

[You still remember the talk you had with the Head General, right?]

Ramsay’s question shattered the silence and startled Mark quite a bit. Barely managing to keep his composure, he thought for a moment before answering.

"For the most part."

Mark felt like he never had the chance to take in everything he and Natalie went through in their first conversation. Between the problems that keep popping up and the many times he passed out since Awakening, free time was very scarce.

[With the border between this world and the Underworld collapsing, the voice of the Primordials began to reach the people on this side.] As if doubting the capabilities of his memory, Ramsay decided to give him a quick refresher. [When someone with high enough psychic potential hears those voices, one of two things would happen to them.]

Noticing that he went silent, Mark finished for him.

"They either Awaken or Fall."

[That is correct.] Ramsay said. [Funny thing is we don’t have a way to know which way someone would turn. There is a reason we had to keep you under watch the entire time.]

Mark pondered over his words for a while before asking.

"What about the LRGS?"

The psychic program was supposed to help people Awaken safely so it didn’t make sense to be wary of people turning to the dark side.

[The Lower Realm Guidance System is a powerful tool, but it isn’t perfect.]

Their speed dropped until the bike came to a stop. Mark immediately got off the back seat and removed the annoying helmet he was forced to wear. Ramsay did the same a moment later.

A gust of wind blew by, sending chills all over Mark’s body. He unintentionally raised the output of his Force Field, and though it shielded him from the cold autumn night, a critical glare from the Sergeant said to lower it right away.

Back to shivering under the cold, Mark blew into his hands a few times before turning to the gate in front of them. Reading the large sign right above it, he couldn’t help but knit his brows tightly.

Stonegate City’s Correctional Facility.

"Let me guess," Mark said. "The vaccine didn’t work on the people in there?"

When he turned to the Sergeant for confirmation, Mark saw that he had already walked to the small door on the left side of the big gate. He held his hand up and something fell into it the next instant. It was clearly some kind of ID card as the door opened soon after Ramsay held it to the terminal right beside the door.

The silence lingered as they walked inside. Ramsay seemed to know his way around as he led them through the yard and into one of the buildings. Mark never had a reason to visit a prison before so he wasn’t familiar with the layout. Even then, he could still tell that the areas they entered weren’t meant for visitors.

The doors that blocked their way opened with one swipe of the card Ramsay held. Before long, they found themselves at the entrance to an area Mark was very familiar with.

A high ceiling, walls lined up with four-by-four rooms, metallic bars everywhere. It was a generic, run-of-the-mill cell block, the kind one would see in movies and TV shows.

Despite the lights being on, the place was strangely quiet. The obvious reason should have been that the prisoners were evacuated along with the rest of the city, but as he looked around, Mark abandoned that speculation.

Most of the cells were empty, but not all. From afar, it appeared as if some translucent pink walls had been laid on top of the metallic bars in those cells. Behind the glass-like walls were shadowy figures moving sluggishly left and right.

"To continue where we left." holding his hand up, Ramsay produced another item out of thin air. This time it was a tablet. "Thanks to the LRGS, most people gained a chance at Awakening even if they have already reached adulthood. That said, some still faced the risk of being infected with Madness. Those who already lost their sanity never had a chance. Then there are those whose souls were rotten to begin with."

The Sergeant tapped on the tablet’s screen as he spoke. On the other side of the block, one of the cells lost the pinkish glass wall sealing it. At the same time, its metal bars retracted into the walls leaving it open.

Inside the cell was a man. His height was average, but his weight was not. The orange prison uniform he wore was bloodied and torn. The prisoner was injured and for a moment Mark thought that was the reason for his sluggish movements, but a second later he learned that wasn’t the case.

The fat prisoner seemed to notice Mark’s and Ramsay’s presence, turning in their direction with eyes torn open. His blood-covered face should’ve been terrifying enough, but the glowing red pupils at the depth of his sunken eyes showed that the creature was no longer a human.

"What are you waiting for?" Ramsay’s voice snapped Mark back to reality. "Those things are fast. If you don’t arm yourself in time..."

As if spurred by the Sergeant’s words, the fat prisoner lunged forward.